Moniek Bloks's Blog, page 160

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway reveals she was offered the chance to become Queen

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has revealed to Insider Magazine that she was offered the chance to become Queen.

When Princess Märtha Louise of Norway was born in 1971, women were barred from inherited the Norwegian throne. A younger brother, Crown Prince Haakon, was born two years later, and it is he who is destined to become King. However, it all could have changed in 1986.

Princess Märtha Louise said, “I was totally happy growing up, I wasn’t jealous at all. But when I was 15, the Prime Minister at the time was a woman, and she suddenly came up with the idea that this was wrong. I remember she came home to us, with granddad [King Olav V], and we had a discussion about whether we should change the whole system and I should be queen.”

“They said, ‘What do you want, Märtha?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m 15, I don’t know about these things,'” she added. It was eventually decided to keep things the way they were.

“For me, I was like, ‘Phew.’ It is a lot of pressure, and it really is a life that you need to choose and be committed to 100%. So I’m very happy that my brother is next in line, and he’s doing an amazing job. He’s focused on all the right things,” Princess Märtha Louise said.

The law was eventually changed in 1990 to absolute primogeniture, though this only applied to children born after 1990. Princess Märtha Louise did gain succession rights but remained behind her brother and his children in the succession.

The post Princess Märtha Louise of Norway reveals she was offered the chance to become Queen appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Elisabeth of Wied – The Princess of the Wild Rose (Part four)

Read part three here.

As Queen of Romania, Elisabeth devoted much of time to the education of children and charitable works. She and her husband had begun to drift apart, so she also spent much time writing poetry, and some of it was published under the pseudonym E. Wedi. Carmen Sylva remained her principal pseudonym, and several works appeared under that name over the years, such as poems, plays, novels, short stories and essays. She later wrote, “To publish my own writings would never have entered into my head, had they not passed from one to another and been copied endlessly. So I came to the conclusion at last that if they are worth such tedious work as copying, they were worthy of being printed. Whether my writings are praised or criticised in the world is of as little moment to me as if it did not concern myself. But when I read my poems to others, I am pleased if they produced the impression I desire. This is also a very safe criterion as to their truth and clearness. I should be delighted if my poems were sung without any one knowing whose composition they are.”1

Early in 1882, Elisabeth became seriously ill and was thought to be between life and death for several weeks. Her life was eventually saved after an operation, though it is unclear what the illness was. She continued to suffer from fevers, and a change in climate was recommended, leading to frequent travels abroad during the winter months. Elisabeth and Ferdinand spent some time apart after Elisabeth had encouraged their nephew Ferdinand in his relationship with her lady-in-waiting Elena Văcărescu, even though she knew a marriage between them was forbidden. Elisabeth was eventually banished from Romania for two years as a more appropriate match for Ferdinand was found in Marie of Edinburgh – a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Elisabeth was sent to her mother in Germany.2 Marie was sent to Germany to be presented to Elisabeth, and she had dramatically set the stage to present herself as the wronged invalid. Elisabeth was dressed in all white, propped up on white pillows to receive the “one who was usurping the place of the girl she had chosen.”3 Elisabeth clasped Marie to her breast and called “Lieb Kindchen” (dear little child) while running her hands over Marie’s face and hair. She was later wheeled out to lunch in a high chair. It must have been a bewildering experience for Marie.

The new Crown Princess sound found herself stuck between the dreamer Elisabeth and the dutiful Ferdinand, but she performed her duty, an heir was born on 15 October 1893 – the future King Carol II of Romania. Elisabeth now had a second chance to be a mother, and she bullied Marie into handing over Carol, and the second child, a daughter named Elisabeth. Elisabeth had returned to Romania from Germany just in time for Marie’s second confinement. Elisabeth believed that Marie was too young and frivolous to take care of her children. 4 The following scandal involving Marie and a lieutenant gave Elisabeth even more ammunition to keep the children away from Marie. Elisabeth succeeded in removing Marie’s influence over her son but at what cost? Marie later wrote, “The air was always vibrant with tense excitement over some topic, some new hobby, some bit of music, of embroidery, some painting or the marvellous discovery of some new book. Nothing was ever taken calmly, everything had to be rapturous, tragic, excessive… Aunty needed a continual audience, and this audience was trained to hang on her every word, to follow her every mood, they had to laugh or weep, praise or deplore according to the keynote given.”5

As the First World War began to loom, Elisabeth’s husband became sicker and sicker. Their relationship, by now one perhaps one of reluctant acceptance, had never recovered from the death of their only child. On 9 October 1914, he died in his sleep, clasped in Elisabeth’s arms. He was buried in the Curtea de Argeș, and Elisabeth moved into the Bishop’s Residence there to be closer to her husband. Despite her eccentricities, the new Queen Marie treated Elisabeth with kindness and understanding. Marie later wrote, “I was keen to demonstrate that the trouble we had together was not of my making. The moment power passed into my hands, and the ordering about fell to my share, all quite naturally became peace and goodwill; no more intrigues and never a harsh or ungracious word, only kindness and harmony, and pleasant understanding.”6 However, their peace would be short-lived.

Elisabeth died on 2 March 1916 after catching pneumonia after walking during a freezing day – a habit she picked up as she was afraid of suffocating. Marie was with at the very end, and it was to her she spoke her last words, “You are supposed to say beautiful things and you can’t….”7  Her young daughter’s coffin was exhumed and placed on top of her own during the public procession, and they were buried together next to Karl in the Curtea de Argeș.

The post Elisabeth of Wied – The Princess of the Wild Rose (Part four) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Elisabeth of Wied – The Princess of the Wild Rose (Part three)

Read part two here.

Shortly after her arrival in Romania, Elisabeth came down with the measles, but luckily she recovered quite quickly. Early in 1870, Elisabeth learned that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter named Marie on 8 September 1870, and the birth was celebrated with a 21-gun salute. Elisabeth became devoted to her little daughter and her new country. She studied the Romanian language and became fluent in it.

But more tragedy was soon to come. On Palm Sunday, 5 April 1874, little Marie came down with scarlet fever and diphtheria. She became restless and refused to go to sleep, saying, “Oh! no, no! If I lie down, I shall go to sleep and never wake again.”1 The little girl continued to worsen over the next week. On 9 April, as little Marie gasped for air in the lap of her English nurse and her mother held her little hands, she passed away from the illnesses that had wracked her body. Elisabeth closed her daughter’s eyes and thanked the doctors for their care. She said, “God loved my child more than ever I did, and so He has taken it to Himself!”2

During the following funeral, Karl helped to carry his daughter’s coffin down the stairs. The funeral service took place in the Church of Cotroceni where little Marie had been baptised just four years previously. At her mother’s request, her tombstone read the verse Luke 8:52 “Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.” After her mother’s death, little Marie would be exhumed and reburied with her mother at the Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș. Elisabeth wrote to her mother after Marie’s death, “God has drawn my child to Himself in His love! May He eternally be praised for the great happiness which was mine! I would rather become a weeping rock like Niobe than never have been a mother! Yes, it is too much joy for one little human heart! My child is so happy, my love is stronger than the grave, and I can rejoice in its joy! There is so much to say about the little one, because she already had such marked characteristics, and was so independent, original, and charming. Still, she is mine for all eternity! I have not lost the high dignity of a mother because my child is separated from me. The great happiness which I enjoy is not too dearly bought with this great sorrow! The pain is a thousand times outweighed by the joy, for it was joy without a pang, and now it is joyful pain!”3 The people mourned with Elisabeth and Karl, often leaving flowers and wreaths on the little grave.

In deep grief, Elisabeth’s health suffered as a result and Karl was advised to take her to Franzensbad for a water cure. There she met a poet who began sending her his poems and she translated them into Romanian, giving her something to do. She found that the work kept her mind off her sorrows. Soon after leaving Franzensbad, Elisabeth went to see her mother in Cologne before travelling with her to England.

Upon her return to Romania, she and Karl soon fell back into a routine of audiences and business. However, war was looming, and during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, Elisabeth devoted herself to nursing. The war was also known as the Romanian War of Independence, and the declaration of the independence of Romania was announced to the people on 22 May 1877, followed by a Russian alliance. After the war, Elisabeth wrote, “I forgot my anxiety in the amount of work I had to get through. Let us thank God that Charles’ has returned, for now, I can creep back slowly into my nutshell, and return to my flowers, my birds, my books, and my papers. I think it is an anomaly and a misfortune when a woman is induced by circumstances to take part in public life. But there were many bright spots in this difficult time. God will surely help us, and a lasting peace will take away the anxiety which is gnawing at our hearts, and this important time will belong to the future, in which sorrow and suffering is modified, and the great results that are won thereby will be brought out into strong relief.”4

On 24 March 1881, Romania was declared a kingdom by Act of Parliament and, as Elisabeth and Karl had no further children, Karl’s nephew Ferdinand was named prince of Romania and heir-presumptive to the throne. Elisabeth and Karl were now King and Queen of Romania. After their coronation day, she wrote, “We spoke with eight hundred people on that day, from eleven o’clock till half-past four, and at half-past eight we were again ‘sous les armes !’ Then came a procession of torches, and a drive round the town to see the illuminations. At last, I could not bow any more, but only wave with my handkerchief. Fortunately, they had stopped the cheering, as I could stand it no longer. This enormous and now silent crowd, which greeted us and nodded and waved in the most demonstrative manner, and the stamping of those feet and hoofs which one did not see, made a most weird and charming impression. Yes, from morning to night, the 22nd of May was a beautiful day!”5

Part four coming soon.

The post Elisabeth of Wied – The Princess of the Wild Rose (Part three) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Elisabeth of Wied – The Princess of the Wild Rose (Part two)

Read part one here.

Elisabeth’s father remained dangerously ill, and the family spent the winter of 1862-1863 in Baden-Baden for his health. To introduce Elisabeth into society during this sad time, the family opened their house to a larger circle of people. Elisabeth had been looking forward to it, but the death of good friend Marie von Bibra on 20 February 1863 caused her much grief. She wrote to her brother William, “I, for my part, expect much sorrow and many tears; they came to me early, and it probably will continue to be so. One loved one after the other is taken away. Each year demands its sacrifice. At how many graves shall I have to stand till I am old?”1

At the end of 1863, Elisabeth visited Russia, but she would end her visit with an illness; she was diagnosed with a nervous gastric fever. She was well taken care of by members of the Imperial Family and was able to write home in January. Her mother was sick with worry and wrote, “My child is ill at a great distance from me, and, for the first time, I am not there to nurse her. I know she is in God’s care and nursed by loving and faithful people. But that does not take the load of anxiety off my heart.”2 Elisabeth was at last able to go outside again on 1 March. Tragically, Elisabeth was not with her father when he died on 5 March 1864. She wrote home to her mother, “As a tree that has been felled leaves a light space in the forest, so a light remains after the death of a great man!”3 She was finally able to return home in June where she helped to decorate her father’s grave after the stone was put up.

As Elisabeth’s brother William was still a minor, their mother took care of the regency. He left the college in Basel in 1865 to begin a journey to the east from Italy to Egypt. However, he was soon recalled to Germany for a war with Austria, which luckily did not last long. Elisabeth too was travelling during this time, and in September 1866 she travelled to Italy and France with her aunt Princess Therese, who had just lost her daughter Catherine. She and her aunt had met in Russia and had become close. Elisabeth also visited Sweden with her mother to visit relatives (her aunt Sofia had married the future King Oscar II of Sweden) and even learned some Swedish.

In 1869, her brother William came of age, and in August he was betrothed to Princess Marie of the Netherlands. Elisabeth had no plans to wed and instead studied to become a teacher. However, her mother had no plans to actually see Elisabeth become a teacher. Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen came back into Elisabeth’s life after being elected Ruling Prince (Domnitor) of the Romanian United Principalities. Elisabeth and her mother were spending a few weeks in Bonn when Karl came calling. Elisabeth was quite oblivious as she prepared for a musical night out, but Karl was already asking her mother for her hand in marriage. After overcoming the initial shock, Elisabeth was pleased and declared, “I am betrothed and a blissfully happy bride.”4

Four days later, 16 October 1869, Karl travelled to Neuwied to publically announce the betrothal. Elisabeth’s mother toasted the couple with the words, “Let us drink to the health of the future pair, who are today the object of our united best wishes! Every betrothal is certainly a day of rejoicing. But the betrothal of today is more. A Prince, called to the accomplishment of a high and arduous mission, has chosen a bride who, whilst remaining faithfully at his side, will take part in the fulfilment of this great duty. They have made a holy covenant between themselves, in which they have promised to devote their strength and love to the happiness of a people which, if rightly and wisely led, is called to a great and happy future. And we will herewith also express our warmest and most sincere good wishes for the fulfilment of this our hope.”5 To his soon-to-be wife, Karl gifted an album for her journal of poems, and he wrote on the first page: “Love is returned by love. Meet your people with the same love and confidence that you have shown to me, and then it will not be one heart alone which beats for you, but millions of hearts will unite with that one, and I shall deem myself happy, for you will not belong to me alone. A whole nation has a right to you. An entire people looks up to you with confidence, and will return your love by its devotion.”6

On 15 November 1869, Elisabeth and Karl were married at Neuwied in a Catholic and Protestant ceremony. Just three days later, Elisabeth and Karl left for Romania. On 22 November – which also happened to be the birthday of her late brother Otto – Elisabeth first set foot on Romanian soil. She was offered the national offering of bread and salt, along with the keys of the town of Turnu Severin. Three days later, the couple arrived in Bucharest and Elisabeth was presented with a tiara of pearls and diamonds, along with an embroidered national costume, by the ladies of Bucharest. The people loved her already.

Part three coming soon.

The post Elisabeth of Wied – The Princess of the Wild Rose (Part two) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Elisabeth of Wied – The Princess of the Wild Rose (Part one)

Princess Elisabeth of Wied was born on 29 December 1843 as the first child and only daughter of Hermann, Prince of Wied, and his wife Princess Marie of Nassau. The Principality of Wied-Neuwied was mediatised in 1806, and so there was no actual land to rule anymore. Elisabeth was named after her godmothers Queen Elisabeth Ludovika of Prussia (born of Bavaria) and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia, the future bride of Adolphe, Duke of Nassau. She was joined in the nursery by two younger brothers named William on 22 August 1845 and Otto on 22 November 1850.

Elisabeth turned out to be a spirited child, and when she was four years, she was appointed a governess, and she received regular lessons. She remained an active child and found it difficult to sit still, even when posing for a portrait with her brother William. The only person who could apparently calm her was her mother’s old governess, a Fraulein Lavater, who told her fairytales.

The birth of her younger brother Otto was quite traumatic for her mother, and Elisabeth was devastated to be kept away from her. Marie was reportedly between life and death for several weeks and suffered from paralysis. Otto was born with some sort of bladder disorder, and he would only live to the age of 11. The family moved to Bonn in 1851 to be near a specialist doctor, and Marie slowly recovered and was able to move about again without the use of a wheelchair. After Marie’s improvement in her health, the family began to spend the winters at Neuwied, and the summers at Monrepos.

When Elisabeth was nine years old, she began to write verses, and at the age of twelve, she tried to write a novel. It would be the passion of a lifetime for her. She later said, “I could not be gentle, and was so passionately impulsive that I was heartily thankful to those who were patient with me. It became better, however, when a safety valve opened for me – that was writing poetry.”1 After the departure of her governess, a tutor was found to supervise her studies, and she annoyed him endlessly with her questions. He taught her in English, and she learned to speak excellent English. She also learned to speak French.

As she grew up, people were impressed by her grace and charm, and she eventually received the nickname, “The Princess of the Wild Rose.” In the summer of 1860, Elisabeth was confirmed after having received religious instruction for two months. The ceremony was performed at Monrepos where the gallery had been converted into a chapel. It was attended by many family members. Shortly before her confirmation, Elisabeth wrote:

“Praise ye the Lord who in mightiness wrought ye,

Praise Him who safely with blessings hath brought ye,

Praise Him, thou earth! and thou star of the sky!

Let what hath being the Lord glorify!

I will give thanks to Him, Father of Life,

I in His way will walk, faithful in strife;

I for His light will seek, guiding us all.

Him I will love, for without Him I fall.”2

The years to come were not happy for the family. Her brother remained critically ill, which absorbed all her mother’s attention and now her father became ill as well. Elisabeth spent many hours with him in his study, copying for him and reading to him. In 1861, Elisabeth travelled to Berlin where she first met her future husband Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and he reportedly managed to break her fall when she slipped on the stairs. Her father wrote to her, “You are a recruit in aristocratic ranks, and not the slightest failing must be detected in you. At Court, you must learn the balancing step so that you may not lose your balance and fall downstairs, or morally stumble and upset. In youth, all this is learnt in play, whereas it is a martyrdom to elderly people. But where one is gifted, as you are, with an endless source of internal happiness, all disagreeable which one experiences are but as a fleeting shadow over the sunshine of life. Since you went away, joy has departed from this house! The gay little bird has flown and is now fluttering from flower to flower.  Sometimes it pricks itself with their thorns, but it flies on, careless of what is behind it. Still, it avoids the thorns in future. Now, good-bye; may God bless you, you dear little- runaway.”3 One can only venture to guess that poetic verses ran in the family!

Elisabeth longed to go back home again, even if it was a house of suffering – she would be with her family. To her brother William – away at school in Basel, she wrote of being extremely lonely during those six weeks in Berlin, despite everyone being very friendly to her. Once back at Neuwied, the consulting doctor gave the most dreadful news. Both her young brother Otto and her father William could no longer be helped by medicine. Their deaths would only be a matter of time. Otto’s pain increased every month, and in November 1861 Elisabeth wrote, “This time of trial binds us closer to one another. It is remarkable that I love everyone more than I did before. I love God more, and this makes my love for other people deeper.”4 Every waking moment was spent with her father and Otto. From his sickbed, her father gave her lessons in painting.

The end came first for the young Otto. Word had been sent to his brother William, who could not come because he had the measles. Otto had cried out, “My William! My William, is he to be taken from me too?” He then kept repeating “Send him my blessing.”5 Otto died on 18 February 1862 with Marie repeating the words, “Thank God, and God be praised forever.”6 After his burial, Elisabeth often returned to Otto’s grave to lay flowers. It wasn’t until 14 years after his death that Elisabeth was able to write about her brother.

Part two coming soon.

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Mastani Bai – A controversial Princess

This article was written by Shivangi.

Mastani Bai was born on 29 August 1699 at Mau Sahaniya, Bundelkhand (a province in present-day central India) to Maharaja Chhatrasal (the Bundela Rajput ruler of Bundelkhand) and his Persian wife, Ruhani Bai Begum. Maharaja Chhatrasal followed Pranami Sampraday, a Hindu community based on bhakti worship of Lord Krishna and teachings of Islam. Mastani was considered to be beautiful and brave. She was skilled in arts, literature and warfare. She was a strategist both on the field and at home, and she would regularly help her father in formulating strategies and policies. She was also trained in close combat.

In 1719, Muhammad Shah ‘Rangeela’ became the Mughal emperor. His prime minister Qamaruddin Khan (who later on became the first Nizam – hereditary ruler – of the state of Hyderabad) was opposed to Mastani’s father Chhatrasal and considered him to be a thorn in the Mughal empire. He had spent all his life fighting the Mughals, right from the time of Emperor Aurangzeb, and he had managed to take away his ancestral lands from the Emperor. On his advice, the Emperor Mohammad Shah ordered the Mughal governor of Allahabad Mohammed Khan Bangash to march against Chhatrasal – leading to the Bangash Bundela war, which was fought between 1720 and 1729. In desperation, Chhatrasal appealed to Maratha Peshwa Bajirao (the prime minister of the Maratha Empire) for help. The Peshwa happened to be quite close at Devgadh near Nagpur (in the present-day state of Maharashtra in western India). Bajirao and troops reached Bundelkhand on 12 March 1729 and defeated Bangash.

A few days later, Bangash signed the terms of the surrender. A grateful Chhatrasal declared that henceforth he would consider Bajirao like his own son and bestowed one-third of his Kingdom on him along with 33 lakh gold coins and a gold mine. He also gave the hand of his daughter Mastani to Bajirao. Bajirao was already married to Kashibai (the daughter of a Maratha nobleman) with whom he had a very good relationship. He also belonged to an orthodox Chitpavan Brahmin family (a sub-caste of Brahmins) which did not practise polygamy. Nevertheless, he accepted the hand of Mastani out of regard for Chhatrasal.

In Pune, which was the seat of Peshwai (the office of the Peshwa – Prime Minister) his marriage was not accepted. His mother Radha bai, an austere widow, had a strict hold over the affairs of the household and the Peshwai. She managed it along with Chimmaji Appa, the younger brother of Bajirao. She faced constant pressure from orthodox Brahmin priests about this second marriage of Bajirao, and also that it was to a woman who followed Muslim customs. Mastani followed her father’s adopted community, which allowed her to offer namaz (daily prayers offered by Muslims) and also to observe Hindu rituals and practices. Due to the family’s intolerance of Mastani, Bajirao had to build a separate residence for Mastani in 1734, which was some distance away from his official residence.

Malicious rumours began to be circulated in Pune, about Mastani being a daughter of Maharaja Chhatrasal with a court dancer and that she was a Muslim and not a Hindu and that she actually was not his daughter but herself a dancer in his court. People were not familiar with the community she followed nor its practices. Mastani bore a son who was named Krishna Rao at birth, and he was born within a few months of Bajirao’s first wife Kashibai also delivering a son. However, as he was born of a half Muslim mother, the priest refused to conduct the various ceremonies performed for the newborn. The boy was later renamed Shamsher Bahadur (a way to convey that the Peshwa house recognised his mother as a Muslim, by giving him a Muslim name).

Bajirao was the seventh Peshwa (Prime Minister) of the Maratha empire, and he would lead military campaigns for the Maratha rulers. His younger brother Chimnaji Appa was also actively involved in planning those campaigns. In his twenty years of military service, he had never lost a battle. After her wedding to Bajirao, Mastani would accompany him on his military expeditions. She was a constant support to her husband. Her beauty, love, military expertise and strategies were highly valuable companions to Bajirao. However, back in Pune, rumours around Mastani refused to die. Her mother-in-law Radha Bai would not have the prestige of the Peshwa household be ruined, and she planned to keep Mastani away from the Peshwa, and she also refused to allow her to accompany him on further military campaigns. Mastani thus stayed back with her son.

In Raverkhedi (in present-day Khargone, in Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India) Bajirao received the news of Mastani being imprisoned. It broke his heart that his brother Chimnaji Appa and his elder son had done this, and it affected him greatly.  He remembered how Mastani had given him inspiration during his campaigns. Her presence had been a source of excitement for him. A feeling of loss of overpowered him, and he started drinking heavily. Soon after, he fell ill with a fever and never recovered. After receiving the news of Bajirao’s death, Mastani too left this world – heartbroken. Some say she took her own life by consuming poison.

In the end, their love was sacrificed at the altar of society and religion. She died in Pabal, Pune at the age of 40 in 1740. She was also buried in Pabal. Her son was just 6 years old and was taken in by Kashibai, her husband’s first wife. Upon reaching adulthood, he was given his father’s lands, received as dowry from Maharaja Chhatrasal. He and his army fought alongside the Peshwa army in the third battle of Panipat between the Maratha and the Afghans (the army of Ahmad Shah Abdali, an Invader from Afghanistan). He was wounded in the battle and died a few days later.

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Queen Wilhelmina – Queen Emma takes the regency oath

On 20 November 1890, Wilhelmina’s mother Emma left behind her dying husband, King William III of the Netherlands, to swear the oath of regency in her husband’s name in The Hague. She told the States-General, “In these serious days, where the King’s condition fills us all with sadness, I will act as regent of the Kingdom. The King, my beloved and honoured consort, has given me the highest example of royal duty and working in the interested of the Country and the People, which has always set the House of Orange apart. I consider it my duty to follow his example. May God ease the suffering of our King and take the Netherlands under His holy wing.”1

He died just a few days later, and on 8 December, Queen Emma was back to swear the oath again – now in the name of the new sovereign; her 10-year-old daughter Queen Wilhelmina. In addition to the regency oath, she also took a separate oath as the guardian of the Queen. The oath stated, “I swear loyalty to the King; I solemnly swear to fulfil all the duties the guardianship places upon me and to focus especially on instilling in the King an attachment to the Constitution and a love for his people. So help me, God Almighty.”2

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Queen Wilhelmina’s white funeral

Princess Wilhelmina had died on 28 November 1962 at 1 in the morning in a small staff apartment at her beloved Loo Palace.

As early as 1919, Wilhelmina had settled on a so-called “white funeral.” Her husband had also requested a white funeral, and she observed his wishes upon his death in 1934. In her memoirs, Wilhelmina wrote, “Long before he died my husband and I had discussed the meaning of death and the eternal Life that follows it. We both had the certainty of faith that death is the beginning of Life, and therefore had promised each other that we would have white funerals. This agreement was now observed. Hendrik’s white funeral, as his last gesture to the nation, made a profound impression and set many people thinking.1

Queen Juliana and her daughters in white by Harry Pot / Anefo – CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

The hearse, church and the mourning clothes should be white, while the coffin should be covered with the Dutch flag and an open bible. She refused to have any regalia placed on the coffin. She wanted to have people from all layers of the Dutch society to be present at the funeral as well as deserving military personnel of all ranks. She also did not want to be embalmed.

At the court chapel at the Loo Palace (By Eric Koch / Anefo – CC0 via Wikimedia Commons)

For several days, her body lay in state in the court chapel of the Loo Palace as people paid their respects. On the evening of 4 December, her body was transferred to the Lange Voorhout Palace in The Hague, which had been the home of her mother, Queen Emma. As her body left the Loo Palace, the anthem “Mein Waldeck” was played. At the Lange Voorhout Palace, people paid their respects as well. Just one wreath was on top of the coffin as it was taken to the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft for burial in the royal crypt – it was from the Dutch resistance. Along the route was an honour guard of 9,000 soldiers. There were no royal regalia as per her wish, but the regalia of the Military Order of William she had been so proud of receiving were there. She did not want foreign representatives to be there, but several members of the extended family were there, such as her first cousin Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone and the Wied family.

The coffin being carried into the crypt by Ben Merk / Anefo – CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

In the church were almost 3,000 people who listened to the service held in Dutch by court preacher Berkel and in French by preacher Forget. In the sermon, they addressed the role of the Father of the Fatherland – William of Orange – and also included her mother Emma and her husband Henry and the situation during the Second World War. 2

Her coffin was placed in the crypt next to her husband Henry and her parents King William III and Queen Emma.

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The Year of Queen Wilhelmina – Queen Emma takes the regency oath

On 20 November 1890, Wilhelmina’s mother Emma left behind her dying husband, King William III of the Netherlands, to swear the oath of regency in her husband’s name in The Hague. She told the States-General, “In these serious days, where the King’s condition fills us all with sadness, I will act as regent of the Kingdom. The King, my beloved and honoured consort, has given me the highest example of royal duty and working in the interested of the Country and the People, which has always set the House of Orange apart. I consider it my duty to follow his example. May God ease the suffering of our King and take the Netherlands under His holy wing.”1

He died just a few days later, and on 8 December, Queen Emma was back to swear the oath again – now in the name of the new sovereign; her 10-year-old daughter Queen Wilhelmina. In addition to the regency oath, she also took a separate oath as the guardian of the Queen. The oath stated, “I swear loyalty to the King; I solemnly swear to fulfil all the duties the guardianship places upon me and to focus especially on instilling in the King an attachment to the Constitution and a love for his people. So help me, God Almighty.”2

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The Year of Queen Wilhelmina – A white funeral

Princess Wilhelmina had died on 28 November 1962 at 1 in the morning in a small staff apartment at her beloved Loo Palace.

As early as 1919, Wilhelmina had settled on a so-called “white funeral.” Her husband had also requested a white funeral, and she observed his wishes upon his death in 1934. In her memoirs, Wilhelmina wrote, “Long before he died my husband and I had discussed the meaning of death and the eternal Life that follows it. We both had the certainty of faith that death is the beginning of Life, and therefore had promised each other that we would have white funerals. This agreement was now observed. Hendrik’s white funeral, as his last gesture to the nation, made a profound impression and set many people thinking.1

Queen Juliana and her daughters in white by Harry Pot / Anefo – CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

The hearse, church and the mourning clothes should be white, while the coffin should be covered with the Dutch flag and an open bible. She refused to have any regalia placed on the coffin. She wanted to have people from all layers of the Dutch society to be present at the funeral as well as deserving military personnel of all ranks. She also did not want to be embalmed.

At the court chapel at the Loo Palace (By Eric Koch / Anefo – CC0 via Wikimedia Commons)

For several days, her body lay in state in the court chapel of the Loo Palace as people paid their respects. On the evening of 4 December, her body was transferred to the Lange Voorhout Palace in The Hague, which had been the home of her mother, Queen Emma. As her body left the Loo Palace, the anthem “Mein Waldeck” was played. At the Lange Voorhout Palace, people paid their respects as well. Just one wreath was on top of the coffin as it was taken to the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft for burial in the royal crypt – it was from the Dutch resistance. Along the route was an honour guard of 9,000 soldiers. There were no royal regalia as per her wish, but the regalia of the Military Order of William she had been so proud of receiving were there. She did not want foreign representatives to be there, but several members of the extended family were there, such as her first cousin Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone and the Wied family.

The coffin being carried into the crypt by Ben Merk / Anefo – CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

In the church were almost 3,000 people who listened to the service held in Dutch by court preacher Berkel and in French by preacher Forget. In the sermon, they addressed the role of the Father of the Fatherland – William of Orange – and also included her mother Emma and her husband Henry and the situation during the Second World War. 2

Her coffin was placed in the crypt next to her husband Henry and her parents King William III and Queen Emma.

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